Top 10 reasons Patriot Nation will miss Jimmy Garopollo

When the Patriots announced the trade of Jimmy Garopollo earlier this week we learned two things.

First: The team has total confidence that 40 year old Tom Brady can play at peak performance for at least three more years.

Second: Garopollo has a great chance of becoming the next big thing for the San Francisco Forty Niners.

Although Garopollo didn’t get to play much, he will leave his imprint in New England. And here are our top ten reasons reasons why.

He helped make Brady better.

When the Patriots chose Garopollo in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft, Tom Brady was coming off a less than stellar season. Since then, Brady has done nothing but get better with age. Brady elevated his game to new levels while winning two Super Bowl Championships since the arrival of Jimmy G. Although much has been made of Brady’s plant based diet and impeccable training method, it was Garopollo who ignited the competitive fire in the belly of TB12.

2. He did his job.

During his conference call with the media on Tuesday, Bill Belichick overflowed with compliments about Garropollo. In his opening statement, (which went on for several minutes), Belichick waxed poetic about the quarterback he took in the second round three years ago.

” First of all, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jimmy [Garoppolo]. I couldn’t ask for him to give us any more than he’s given us. The 49ers are getting a good player, and they’re getting a good person, and they’re getting a great teammate and they’re getting a good quarterback. Jimmy is getting a good coach. His career is moving forward. He’s a talented individual, was a great person to coach.”

“I met with him weekly and, again, have a tremendous amount of respect for him. As his career moves forward we have to look to our team, both this year and beyond, and that’s a consideration we have to make. We probably had, in my opinion, the best quarterback situation in the league for the last – let’s call it two-and-a-half years,” said Belichick.

Meeting with the back up quarterback weekly? Now, that is respect.

3. He had patience.

It can’t be easy standing in the shadow of Tom Brady. Any professional player wants to play, and the opportunities were few and far between for Jimmy G. Belichick was spot on saying the Patriots had the best quarterback situation in the league.

4. He played the bad guy at practice.

During his time in New England, Garopollo had the unenviable task of morphing into the next quarterback the Patriots defense would see. Jimmy G would pour over hours upon hours of video to prepare for this role. Goropollo has mimicked every quarterback from Russell Wilson to Aaron Rogers up to 19 weeks per season. The Patriots defense depended largely on Jimmy G’s ability to play the “bad guy.”

5. He crushed it in college.

Eastern Illinois is not a power house like a Big Ten or SEC school. Garopollo was a four year starter for the Panthers, and broke Tony Romo’s record for most TD’s. He led his team to back to back conference championships including a perfect 8-0 season in 2014.

6. He gave back.

Goropollo was active in charity work during his time in New England. Two years in a row he donated his time and skills to Access Sport in America, an organization that inspires children and adults living with disabilities through high challenging sports and training.

7. He is really good looking.

Let’s just say it flat out- the New England Patriots had by far the best looking quarterback duo in the NFL. A picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe more in his case.

And according to some, Garopollo has surpassed Tom Brady in the good looks department.

A 2014 poll by SB Nation asked the question… who is the better looking QB?

23% of respondents said Tom Brady.

77% of respondents said Jimmy Garopollo

8. Best smile.

During the 2014 draft, Garopollo was voted “best smile” in the quarterback class by NFL Network’s Mike Maycock.

9. He loves his family.

Garopollo says the two most important people in his life are his parents. His father, Tony is a mechanic and mother Denise is a chef. He has two older brothers and one younger. The family grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

10. He loves his mom.

On Instagram, Garopollo declared in a photo with his mother, ” The only gal I will ever need.”

About The Author

Alice Cookis a veteran television sports reporter and Olympian. Her experience includes 25 years of sports reporting for WBZ-TV, the CBS and former NBC affiliate in Boston. Cook has worked for ESPN, Turner Sports, and WTBS. Cook is a feature writer for She's Game Sports and Boston.com. She is also President and Founder of She's Game Sports LLC.

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